When the Baltimore Ravens are on the clock in this year’s 2016 NFL Draft, GM Ozzie Newsome and his scouting department will be under tremendous pressure to select players that can come in and contribute right away. With the Ravens missing the playoffs 2 out of the last 3 years, and sporting just a 23-25 regular season record since their Super Bowl victory over the 49ers, owner Steve Bisciotti has to be running out of patience.

Along with the Ravens faithful fan base, he has watched an unusually high number of draft picks play way below their draft grade/position. Players such as Sergio Kindle, Terrence Cody, Matt Elam, and Arthur Brown quickly come to mind. Even last year’s top draft pick WR Breshad Perriman has yet to see field action in an NFL game. In fairness to Perriman he did suffer a knee injury in training camp, but the bottom line is that has not been able to contribute, and even more disturbing is that the team has been awfully quiet in regards to how well his recovery is progressing.

The Ravens cleared up a bunch of cap space by releasing several players (Daryl Smith, Chris Canty) and restructuring the contracts of others (Marshal Yanda, Jimmy Smith). They are currently $12.5 million under the cap, and are in talks with players such as WR Mike Wallace. No doubt Ozzie Newsome will also fill some holes after the June 1 cuts.

With the signing of Shareece Wright to a new deal, I don’t think that CB is the Ravens top priority. Putting pressure on the QB is still the best way for a team to improve their pass defense, which is why I think DeForest Buckner, the 6’7″ 290 pound DE from Oregon makes sense for the Ravens with the 6th pick in the first round. He is a capable replacement for Chris Canty, and he is built like an AFC North defensive end. If he is gone by the time it’s the Ravens’ turn to pick, Ohio State’s Joey Bosa would be a solid option. Bosa plays the run better than Buckner, but does not get after the QB as well. Buckner is also a better fit with the Ravens from a scheme-fit standpoint.

Hopefully the rookie QBs will shake-up this year’s draft and make the Ravens an attractive trade partner. It would be great to see the team trade back – even one spot to the QB needy 49ers – and pick up another 2nd round draft pick. That would present the ideal, best case scenario. But if the board holds true and there are no trades, here are 9 players that could be Ravens at the conclusion of the draft:

Kicking It Off: Maryland improved to 2-0 on the season with a 47-10victory over Old Dominion in its first all-time meeting with the Monarchs. It is the third time in the last four seasons that the Terps have started the season 2-0.Offense Continues to Roll: After posting 576 yards in the season opener against FIU, Maryland racked up 587yards of total offense. It is the first time Maryland has totaled over 500 yards of offense in back-to-back games since at least the 1998 season. The Terps’ 47 points are the most points scored by Maryland since it posted 51 against East Carolina in the Military Bowl (12/29/10).

In addition, for the first time in program history, Maryland scored over 40 points in its first two games of the season.

Stingy Defense: The Terrapin defense held Old Dominion to 10 points, the lowest output by the Monarchs’ offense since at least the 2008 season. Its three interceptions marked the first time the Terrapins had three picks in a game since Nov. 7, 2009, against NC State.Brown Under Center: After accounting for five touchdowns last weekend, Brown followed up that performance with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. The senior quarterback passed for 275 yards and rushed for 30. For his career, Brown has accounted for 21 touchdowns, which is tied for 21st all-time.

Ross on the Board: Brandon Ross scored his second career touchdown on Maryland’s second possession of the game capping a seven play, 77-yard drive. On the march, Ross carried the ball four times for 49 yards.

One-Two Punch: After being held to 30 rushing yards in the opener, Ross rushed for a career-best 149yards and one score. Ross came one yard short of becoming the first Maryland player to rush for 150 yards since C.J. Brown ran for 162 at Clemson (10/15/11). Albert Reid also got into the mix on Saturday rushing for a career-high 56 yards and his first career touchdown. Reid’s 27-yard touchdown run was a career long.

Diggs on the Day: Stefon Diggs starred on the outside for the Terps. Diggs caught six passes for a personal-best 179 yards including a 41-yard sprint down the sidelines for a touchdown. Diggs now has 1,125 career receiving yards, which ranks 21st all-time in school history.

With his 12 yards rushing, Diggs now has 2,281 career all-purpose yards moving him to 24th all-time in Maryland history.

A Trio of Firsts: Isaac Goins’ interception on the opening possession of the game, Sean Davis’ pick late in the first quarter, and Yannick Ngakoue’s third-and-goal interception early in the second quarter are career firsts for all three players. The first turnover set up Maryland’s opening score of the game, a 32-yard field goal from Brad Craddock, and Davis’ interception set up a five-yard touchdown run by C.J. Brown.

Defensive Notes: Almost a year after recording a safety at Temple (9/8/12), Darius Kilgo recorded a safety early in the fourth quarter … the Terps’ had four sacks with Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil, L.A. Goree, Andre Monroe and Marcus Whitfield all with one … William Likely led the team in tackles with a personal-best 11, nine solo … Matt Robinson had eight tackles and led the team with tackles for a loss.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Spurred by a bevy of the area’s top players, along with key additions from around the nation, the University of Maryland football team has signed a top-35 recruiting class for the second consecutive year.

Head coach Randy Edsall announced the signing of 22 student-athletes for the 2013 season, 19 of whom signed national letters-of-intent, Wednesday afternoon. Three signees enrolled in classes at the university for the spring semester.

The class includes 13 defensive players and nine on the offensive side, while 14 of the players hail from the Maryland/Washington, D.C. area. The Terps landed a five-star recruit for the second consecutive year and have six incoming players labeled as four-star recruits.

“Overall I’m very thrilled and excited because we were able to go out and meet the needs that we needed to in this year’s class,” said head coach Randy Edsall. “I’m also very proud that we closed strong, getting three young men on signing day, and they’re local kids.”

For the second straight year, Maryland landed the Gatorade Player of the Year in Washington, D.C. in Yannick Ngakoue (Prounounced: Ya-neek In-gah-kway). A linebacker from Friendship Collegiate Academy, Ngakoue played in the Under Armour All-America game and is a Parade All-American.

Deon Long, a five-star wide receiver who spent last season at Iowa Western Community College, strengthens an already impressive receiving corps. The Terps also added a pair of local wideouts in four-star receiver Taivon Jacobs of Suitland High School and DeAndre Lane of Catonsville Senior High School.

Jacquille Veii, a highly-touted defensive back from The Avalon School in Gaithersburg, Md., was one of the three players to pledge their commitment to Maryland on signing day, joining Jacobs and Ngakoue.

According to 247Sports.com, four of the top seven players in D.C. are headed to Maryland, including Under Armour All-America offensive lineman Derwin Gray (No. 1), and linebackers Cavon Walker (No. 6) and Jermaine Carter, Jr. (No. 7). The aforementioned Ngakoue is the third-ranked player in D.C.

Both 247Sports.com and Rivals.com rank Maryland’s class as the 30th-best in the nation. Rivals also has Maryland’s class as the fifth-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I’m just very proud of the coaching staff for the work and effort they’ve put in to getting this done,” said Edsall. “Then I’m also just very happy for all these young men that we’ve signed because they see what we’re doing, what we’re building, and they wanted to be a part of something special.”

In addition to Gray, Jacobs and Ngakoue, the Terps added three more four-star recruits in quarterback Shane Cockerille, tight end Andrew Isaacs and defensive back William Likely. Cockerille, a dual-threat quarterback from The Gilman School, was a finalist of ESPN’s Elite 11, a camp which ranks the top prep quarterbacks in the nation. Cockerille also represented the U-19 USA Team in the International Bowl on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Likely, an all-state player Belle Glade, Fla., is one of three early enrollees, joining Long and offensive lineman Silvano Altamirano, who spent the past two seasons at San Diego Mesa College.

A talented group of incoming linebackers also includes Jalen Brooks, one of two recruits from the state of Georgia, and Derrick Hayward of Wicomico High School in Salisbury, Md.

Milan Collins of Bishop McNamara High School in La Plata, Md., Elvis Dennah of Annapolis Area Christian School in Annapolis, and Jarrett Ross, the lone Delaware signee, round out a group of five defensive backs.

The Terps also added three strong defensive linemen, going into Florida to get Bozeman High School product Chandler Burkett and Mandarin High School’s Kingsley Opara, as well as Malik Jones, who won two state titles at Paul L. Dunbar High School in Baltimore.

Maryland also has two quality additions along the offensive line in JaJuan Dulaney of McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Ga., and Moise Larose of Wilde Lake High School in Odenton, Md.